Jamie Lidell (CD)

Jamie Lidell

1 Used

Amoeba Review

02/18/2013

In an alternate universe, Jamie Lidell is as popular as Justin Timberlake, duking it out on the charts with Robyn instead of Lady Gaga. Jamie Lidell’s fifth and self-titled album is like a rocket ride through a funky galaxy of ’80s-inspired beats. The emphasis here is more on the dancefloor than clever beatwork and cutting up Lidell’s souful vocals. Echoes of popular synth funk like DeBarge and Bobby Brown flow through “I’m Selfish” and the opening of “Big Love” pulls from songs like Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s “Head to Toe,” but the throbbing synths and more modern production keep it from pure nostalgia. Lidell’s too smart to make listening to the album a game of name that influence; rather, the references pull us in, and Lidell’s voice and always stellar production keep us planted (or dancing, as is often the case here). The further you dig into the album, the deeper and weirder the grooves get, like on the nasty bass lines of “You Naked”; “Why_Ya_Why,” which is reminiscent of OutKast’s Idlewild period, of all things; and the Prince-in-space madness of “You Know My Name.” For the most part, Jamie Lidell successfully rebrands Jamie Lidell, as its title would suggest, as a freestyle funk blue-eyed soul star of his own dimension.